Virginia Softball To Play Third Tournament Of The Season

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March 2, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia softball team travels to Marietta, Ga., this weekend to compete in 14th annual Atlanta Marriott Buzz Classic, which is being held Mar. 3-5 at the Al Bishop Sports Complex. The Cavaliers, who currently stand at 6-2 on the season, are in Pool 4 of the tournament and will play each of the other four teams in the pool. Bracket play commences at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday (Mar. 4).

The Cavaliers open the tournament on Friday (Mar. 3) by playing Oklahoma State and St. Joseph’s (Pa.) at 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., respectively. The Cowboys lead the all-time series against UVa 2-0. Conversely, this is the first meeting between the Cavaliers and St. Joseph’s. Oklahoma State is currently 2-9 on the season, while St. Joseph’s opens its 2006 season this weekend.

Virginia continues play in the tournament on Saturday (Mar. 4) at 9:00 a.m. against South Dakota State University. The contest is followed immediately with a game against Evansville at 11:00 a.m. It marks the first meeting for UVa against both teams. The Jackrabbits are 2-2 this season, while the Purple Aces are 9-3, including a 2-1 win against Western Kentucky Wednesday (Mar. 1). Evansville won the Aces Spring Invitational this past weekend (Feb. 24-26) with 6-2 win over Ball State.

Thirteen of the 25 teams advance to bracket play, which begins Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. Bracket play resumes on Sunday at 9:00 a.m., followed by semifinals at 11:00 a.m. The Championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

UVa enters the Atlanta Marriott Buzz Classic with a four-game winning streak. The Cavaliers traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn., last weekend, where they went 4-2 in the Panera Bread Challenge. The Buzz Classic marks the beginning of Virginia’s spring break trip. After this weekend’s tournament, the Cavaliers travel to California to play seven games in five days.